Death as a result of human aggression is a major killer among black Americans. But for some little understood reason, this topic has been essentially ignored by social scientists generally during the recent period. The proposed research project will attempt to assess variations in the level of black involvement in the heightened incidence of homicide in selected urban environments since 1960, but with emphasis on the period 1970-1975. One will attempt to identify the homicide environment in twelve sample cities. Both an ecological and clinical approach will be employed in our attempt to explain homicidal causality. The basic research strategy will be to identify first the homicidal victim through the use of death certificates. We will then proceed to identify offenders through the use of court and arrest records. The objectives of this research are: 1) to determine the economic, social and psychological impact of the homicidal event on both the dependents of the victim and the offender; 2) to ascertain the role of black culture on homicide levels and patterns; 3) to identify the contribution of environmental stress as a catalyst in the homicidal event; 4) and finally to evaluate a number of policy options in terms of their role in minimizing the incidence of homicide.